fallout_gravel_pitfandomcom-20200216-history
Randall Clark
"Everyone who’s anyone knows you can’t trust Randall Clark.” ''-Rose of Sharon Cassidy'' Randall Clark has been a gangster, legate, street urchin, caravan raider, and most frequently an escaped convict. Most recently, he's become a reluctant assassin. Arcade Gannon described him as a "samurai escape artist." Background Randall Clark was supposedly born on the streets of New Reno, although who his parents were and how he survived long enough to walk are a mystery to everyone. He was a street urchin from youth and gained survival skills by simply staying alive. He formed his own gang of urchins and they made their living off of robbing unwary travelers to the city. This, however, made him hated by the casinos of the city, as he was costing them customers. Randall was quite crafty, however, and was always careful to make his gang disperse and hide himself. When he was sixteen years old, he got in a fight with another, larger boy over leadership of the gang. Randall nearly lost, as the older boy pulled on Randall's long, unkempt hair to score an easy blow. The next opportunity he had, he shaved his hair down to stumps and then burned the roots dead so that no one hair would grow, effectively balding himself. When he turned eighteen years old, he struck out on his own. He joined the Yakuza, a gang based on the ancient crime syndicates of Japan, and learned fantastic skill with the dagger from them. His time with the young men who were longing for their ancestry and culture kindled a similar flame in Randall, who had no identity of his own. He left the Yakuza after learning all he could from them and became a loner thief in NCR territory. Unlike other raiders of the time, who were known for their vicious nature or fearsomeness, Randall made his caps by never being seen. He'd attack at night to capture NCR caravans or perhaps other riches. He became hated by the big-name Brahmin herders, as his most fierce attacks were against them, causing team after team of mercenaries to be sent against him. However, he was eventually caught and sent to a correctional facility... which he shortly escaped. He'd be captured repeatedly over the course of years and did several stints in various NCR prisons, but always managed to get out. This earned him a reputation as a master escape artist, and is what cemented his legend among the network of criminals and mercenaries. One of this 'prisons' was the NCR's burgeoning settlement in Denver. Upon being captured for the final time by the NCR, the republic decided they'd had enough of him, and devised a way to use Randall's violent nature for good. Instead of killing the man, they released him upon their enemies: Caesar's Legion. Deposited into the heart of Arizona by a Veteran Ranger strike team, Randall became an equal nuisance for the Legion as he had been for the NCR. Eventually, an entire legion was drawn away to chase him. This, how ever, proved to be part of his plan. Randall, retaining his fascination with culture, had studied the rituals of Caesar's Legion. He learned of the ways of the Praetorians, how one could kill a competitor to move up in the ranks, and how the weak were punished, while the strong rose higher. He had drawn the Legate of this legion out, the man in heavy metal armor moving at the fore-front of his men. Not only that, but in mobilizing their Legion, they drew out their own vexillarius- standard bearers. One night, as they were hunting for Randall himself, the man snuck into the Legion's camp and stole every single Legion standard. He left a message, written in the blood of one of the vexillarius, that if they wanted to return with honor, (since losing one's standard was a great embarrassment in the Legion) they had to meet with him. To perhaps the entire Legion's surprise, when the meeting did occur, Randall stood out front of the massive army, greeted the Legate with respect, and then challenged the man to a duel in front of all his Legionnaires. Fearing looking weak in front of his men, or perhaps confident in his chances, the Legate accepted. The man's great-sword went against Randall's twin daggers. It was easily apparent Randall was far superior in skill, and the former gangster ended the fight quickly and brutally, spilling quarts of the Legate's blood across the sand in several vicious strokes. He donned the Legate's helm and took the great-sword for himself and demanded he be recognized as Legate. He had to kill seventeen challengers of his own, coming out of each fight almost unscathed, before the Legion recognized his strength. He arrived in Flagstaff to a hero's welcome- Caesar was glad to have such a man on his side. After all, Randall hated the NCR as well, and a few quick words on Caesar's part cemented the new Legate's loyalty. And, if that hadn't done it, Randall now had access to all the gold, food, and women he could ever want. The boy who had grown up starving on the streets of New Reno was very happy indeed. But Randall's fame and fortune did not last long, however. He was tricked and betrayed by one of his own advisors. Randall's fascination with his own past and culture was no mystery and an Centurion under Randall's service, a close friend, led Randall to believe he had found the location of Randall's ancestors: Aloha Islands. The two journeyed there, backed by a Legion fleet. However, only one ship landed on the island. Randall quickly realized that he was duped, but the Centurion had chosen a landscape to abandon Randall that favored his and his men's guns, as opposed to Randall's knives. Despite being able to slay all the soldiers the Centurion had present, the man proved craftier than Randall had given him credit. The Centurion collapsed an unstable cliff shelf beneath Randall's feet, and the ex-Yakuza fell to his apparent death. Randall, however, survived, left wounded and stranded on Kunai Island. He regretted having ever left his guard down, and swore to get back to being solely focused on survival, as he once had been, abandoning all that had made him a civilized man. He eventually managed to escape the Aloha Islands, and return to the main land. Most recently, Randall was recruited by Shrike. Some how, she managed to convince him to work for her, evidently having information about his past or origin, and using it as leverage. Randall is very reluctant in his service of Shrike. He was hesitant to kill Doc Mitchell and showed actual remorse when he killed Rose of Sharon Cassidy. Qualities Randall is a bit of a mystery, when it comes to his inner motives. Growing up on the streets of New Reno taught him to always be on his toes, be suspicious, and trust no one, since they might knife you in the back for one reason on the next. He also learned to survive at any cost and is wiling to stab someone in the back himself for his own reason. However, somewhere over the course of his life, he adopted a moral code, likely when he was with the Yakuza. He refuses to kill children, won't harm the defenseless, and is dangerous to anyone who he thinks has broken his own code. In all, Randall can appear to be a high-functioning sociopath, when really he has incredibly complex persona. Randall's skills are physically oriented. He is incredibly athletic, able to climb or cross treacherous ground in seconds, and is very strong, able to preform incredible feats of agility. He is quick enough to evade gunfire, as he himself has no training in firearms, and instead uses blades. Randall's skill with daggers is unparalleled, his fighting style picked up from the best knife fighters on the west coast, and then only improved from there. He is also incredibly skilled at stealth, preferring to ambush and eliminate from the shadows instead of fighting upfront. He can craft weapons fairly easily, a trait picked up from designing more and more complex shivs while in various prisons, and is excellent at setting traps. Randall has a very large skill set, but none of his techniques in stealth or combat involve technology of any sort. While this would seem a disadvantage, it actually puts him in a position of power when there are situations where technology isn't of use or available. Gallery Appearances * Butcherbird: Chapter 1 * Butcherbird: Chapter 2 * Butcherbird: Chapter 3 * Butcherbird: Chapter 4 * Butcherbird: Chapter 5 * Butcherbird: Chapter 6 * Butcherbird: Epilogue Trivia * Randall is multilingual. In addition to English, he understands Japanese and Latin. * Randall doesn't like wearing sleeves. * Despite sharing a similar search for identity, Randall and Ulysses would probably end up trying to kill each other. Theme Category:Fallout: Aloha Islands Category:Characters Category:Males Category:Humans Category:Former Legionnaires Category:Caesar's Legion Category:Brothers in Binds Category:Raiders Category:Butcherbird Category:Legends of the Wastes Category:Yakuza